ISTANBUL: The third day of Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks in Istanbul ended in a deadlock, failing to produce a final agreement.

The primary sticking point remains the Afghan Taliban’s refusal to provide written, verifiable guarantees of action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Afghan territory.

This round of talks, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, aimed to solidify the October 19 Doha ceasefire that followed the worst border clashes since the 2021 change of power in Kabul.

Pakistan demanded that the Taliban end their patronage of the TTP, a demand the Afghan side hesitated to meet in writing, despite submitting a counter-proposal to end Pakistani cross-border strikes.

The negotiations were complicated by new clashes on Friday and Saturday (October 24 and 25) in Kurram and North Waziristan, where the Pakistani military reported five of its soldiers and 25 militants were killed while repelling infiltrations.

These incidents raised serious doubts about Kabul’s commitment to the truce.

US President Donald Trump repeated his offer to mediate, while Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had previously warned that failure in Istanbul could lead to “open war.”